The present exemplary embodiments herein relate to fuel filler assembly for a vehicle gas tank and more particularly relate to a fuel filler adapter with a drainage feature for collecting and draining overflow fuel in a vehicle and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments discussed herein are also amenable to other like applications.
It has become custom practice for drivers to refuel vehicles themselves rather than to seek the service of a skilled service attendant. A fuel injection hole is generally disposed in a housing apparatus and mounted in the fuel door of a vehicle body. To refuel, a fuel pump nozzle is inserted into a fuel injecting hole disposed in a housing apparatus in the fuel door of a vehicle body. This process may lead to fuel spills caused by a misguided entry of fuel, back flow, and/or drips from the nozzle when it is removed from the fuel pipe. The gasoline may spill down the outer adjacent vehicle body causing permanent damage to the vehicle's finish. Additionally, the fuel may create a film on the body that quickly attracts dirt, dust, and other foreign, unsightly material.
A variety of devices have been proposed for protecting vehicle bodies from fuel spillage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,691 suggests an automobile fuel bib that prevents trickling or overflowing fuel from contacting an automobile's finish during filling. The bib comprises a flat sheet of rubber having a narrow top part with a hole for placement around a fill pipe. The design requires the use of a supporter attached to the underside of the bib to guide the bib into its proper shape. The bib is flexible and compact allowing it to be tucked into a fill-pipe compartment for storage. Another device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,099, provides a fuel guard that protects the fender area of an automobile's surface from damage caused by gasoline spills during refueling and marring caused by incidental contact with the fuel pump nozzle. This device may be attached to an automobile and rolled up in the fuel fill compartment for storage. When the door of the automobile's fuel compartment is opened, the sheet extends down along the fender area of the automobile. However, the above devices try to protect a vehicle surface once fuel has already spilled outside of the fuel fill compartment. This runs the risk of fuel spilling onto unprotected areas of the body and spilling onto people as they fill the fuel tank.
Currently, there are various proposed methods to catch spilled fuel and funnel the fuel out of the vehicle without ever exposing the fuel to the exterior of the vehicle body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,700 discloses a fuel tank assembly with an overflow channel to minimize fuel spillage. The assembly includes a fuel tank with a filler neck and a grommet. The grommet includes a skirt at one end adapted to encircle the filler neck and at least one flange at the other end. Disposed between the flange and the skirt is an overflow channel. The wall of the overflow channel contains a drain outlet that may receive a drain pipe. The drain pipe is routed from the outlet across the top of the fuel tank and down one side so it can drain to the ground. The overflow channel is disposed at the lowest part of the grommet so that any spilled fuel will readily drain from the overflow channel to the drain pipe. This method requires many parts, making its use costly and limited in design.
With reference to FIG. 1, a known sheet metal fuel filler adapter 100 is depicted. The adapter 100 includes a sheet metal housing 102 connected to a vehicle body 110. The adapter 100 further includes a separate plastic piece 104 disposed around a fuel pipe opening 106 having a lip 108 extending outwardly below the fuel pipe opening 106. The lip 108 operates as a fuel catcher/drain and prevents overflow fuel from spilling down the outside painted surface of the vehicle body 110. This design functions well, but it is expensive and heavy due to the addition the extra plastic piece 104 and the use of sheet metal as the housing 102.
With reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, another known design uses an overmolded plastic fuel filler adapter 120 disposed in the side panel 122 of a vehicle. The adapter 120 includes a base housing 124 and an overmolded plastic portion 126 formed to the base housing 124. The overmolded plastic portion 126 surrounds a fuel pipe opening 128. The bottom of the adapter 120 includes a drain hole 130 and acts as a fuel catcher to funnel spilled fuel down the drain hole 130. As best seen in FIG. 2b, this configuration requires the bottom portion of the adapter 120 to be positioned at an angle sloping significantly downward laterally into the vehicle in order to hold a required volume of overflow fuel since drainage is not instantaneous. The sloped angle also helps to force fuel to flow out through the drain hole 130. Using the bottom portion of the adapter 120 to capture and funnel spilled fuel places restrictions on the angle of this portion since it must be set independently of all other design considerations. Particularly, this design restricts the moldability and installability of the fuel filler adapter 120 since it cannot be undercut in the mold and the bottom portion of the adapter 120 cannot protrude significantly below the fuel door opening 132.